Rum Soaked Reveries
by PirateRosi
Summary: When expiratess turned petty thief, Erin Sparks runs into a certain rogue pirate, an old flame is reignited. Distracted, she remains oblivious of the imminent danger... Post AWE/AWE Compliant.
1. Prologue

She ran. Down the winding streets and dark alleyways, her heart pounding somewhere near her throat, and her weary feet slipping on the wet cobblestones. She was drenched to the bone and shivering, but the rain continued to pour, blurring her vision and dulling her senses.Skidding around yet another corner, she splashed her way through a murky puddle, wrinkling her nose at the stench and praying it was mud that now spattered her clothes from the waist down. As if she didn't have enough problems as it was, without walking around smelling like a drain.Taking a right she ducked down a narrow walkway, hoping to loose her pursuer in the winding back streets and alleys that she recognized would lead to a number of slums, dotted with dull, grimy taverns that were seemingly forever recurring in the abyss of a port that was Tortuga.

She suddenly skidded to a halt, the constant drumming of footsteps, that had proceeded her from the main street, where she had raided the unwary pursuer's pockets, had ceased. She gulped air down greedily in an effort to quieten her loudly beating heart, which she was sure would give away her away. Her breathe came out in great torrents of white mist as it hit the cold night air, it was bitterly cold. Eerily so.  
She stood waiting in the silence for the tell tale sound of footsteps, watching the drops of rain skitter off the brim of her hat, then drop to the ground. After a while she grew impatient of waiting. Noiselessly, she slunk away, taking a different pathway back the way she had came. A smile played at her lips, as her thoughts crept back to the items that lurked deep in her pocket. Not that they were exceedingly valuable, far from it in fact, which only added to her curiosity at their owners plight to retrieve them. Unless they held some deeper importance of course, but what great significance could an old battered looking compass and a handful of coins have? They were everyday objects to those in her trade.  
Nothing. At least not to people like her. The compass of course didn't matter much, she supposed she could sell it, but the coins would make sure she wasn't going to go hungry tonight. Her smile widened at that prospect. Business had been slow of late, people were very vigilant in these parts, not that she blamed them. Tortuga was riddled with pickpockets, beggars and the like. All lost souls, pitiful and penniless. Similar to herself.  
Most who congregated in the said hell hole were pirates, this being what the port had become so infamous for. Few honest sailors dared tread it's dank streets. Though something had to be said for an all pirate port, you could get away with murder. Literally.

She had slowed to brisk walk now, sure that she was finally alone. But, lost deep in thought, Erin had failed to notice a dark shadow, lit by the yellowing streetlights, flickering between the buildings behind her. It grew ever nearer, but cautiously so, reluctant to show itself until the critical moment.  
Erin stopped, an uncharacteristic shudder had ran up her spine, she looked around her uneasily, her senses told her something wasn't quite right. Her hand lingered on the hilt of her cutlass, one of the only items of expense she owned. She had vowed never to let herself be unarmed, no matter how hard things became, you had to be able to protect yourself in her profession. Well... Temporary profession. She had no intention of remaining a petty thief, degrading as it was. Besides the fact she needed both cutlass, and pistol for protection, they reminded her of better times, although the nostalgia was depressing and the irony, sickening. But those times felt so long ago to her that she had barely any recollection of them, they haunted her in the form of daydreams sometimes, bittersweet and seeped in rum, tainted in the salty air.

A dull crunching noise nearby lurched her back into reality. She swung around, squinting through the darkness to try and pinpoint the source of the sound.  
This gave her shadowy pursuer the exact opportunity he needed, a hand clamped roughly over her mouth, stifling her gasp of surprise. She was dragged back into the deep shadows, and the hand was warily removed from her mouth. She thought of making some attempt to scream or call for aid, but only briefly. There was no point, her voice would be heard by no more than a passing stray cat, at best it would be ignored. Not that she would as a matter of principle.  
Erin could feel his warm breathe tickle the back of her neck, heavy with the scent of rum. Without a word, he dug in her coat pocket, retrieving the elusive compass. She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously, unsure of her next move, or what exactly was going on.  
He gave a murmur of affirmation as he studied it, then muttered a distinct, "Ta", in her ear. He then proceeded to shove the compass unceremoniously back in his pocket.  
Erin saw her chance, while he was distracted, to make her move. She dug her elbow hard, back into his chest, loosening his grip. He groaned in pain and annoyance, as she flung herself forward, slipping from his grasp entirely and stumbling on the cobbles.  
She stopped at a sharp click from behind her, the sound of a pistol loading, and it didn't take a genius to guess where it would be aimed.  
"Not so fast, love"  
She slowly turned, only to see the vague figure of a man pointing, yes, a pistol at her.  
She backed away slowly, back into the shadows, but the figure only advanced, until a patch of moonlight lit his features, throwing them into startling relief.  
She blinked, astonished, as she recognized that face. Irony had taken a whole new angle, she mused, and as for nostalgia, it was having the night of it's life.  
Two dark eyes regarded her from under a troubled brow, which furrowed as though expecting something from the would-be thief.  
"I know you from somewhere don't I?", the voice enquired almost lazily.   
Erin let out a deep sigh, slightly bemused that she had distinguishable in the semi-darkness. She took a step forward, out into the light.  
The man's eyes widened, and she allowed herself a grim smile.


	2. Simply Divine

Silence. They both stood regarding each other in the semi-darkness. Neither said a word.  
The man facing her had barely changed at all, Erin mused, though her memory was not what it was. She had trouble remembering anything to do with her past these days, a subject which bemused her frequently.  
His dark eyes bore into hers, full of intrigue and confusion, not an expression often worn by that particular pirate. Though due to the circumstances it was granted. She studied his face, finding only a few scars to show the passing of the last ten years.  
At least that's how long she thought it was.

Jack blinked slowly, convinced this was some sort of trick. Erin was dead, he knew it. But she was stood right in front of him...  
He had been slowly progressing into insanity anyway, perhaps he had lost his mind.  
He squinted through the gloom, but her features were unmistakable, although she seemed instantly downcast, although her determination and slight sense of solemnity were instantly recognizable. It was something in the way she held herself... All a facade of course.  
The moonlight glanced across her pale skin, and illuminated her intense, heavily-lidded eyes. Clearly being allegedly dead to everyone but herself had taken it's toll. Although slightly stunned, Jack regained his legendary composure immediately, and his lips curled into an uneasy grin. He took another step forward. Their breath mingled in the icy cold air. He saw her obvious uncertainty as she gave him a slight nod in greeting.

He was slightly annoyed now, as childish as it was, what on earth was going on? He hid it well as always. Breaking the silence he muttered, "Sparks? But-", his voice took a rather accusing tone, "You're supposed to be dead...". He realised how ironic it sounded and winced. He was practically echoing what the dim-witted Pintel had said to him whilst on his venture to regain the Pearl.  
She looked rather taken aback at his tone, and he instantly regretted it, "So are you." she replied with a wicked smile.  
"Ah, you're forgetting, love. I'm-"  
"Captain Jack Sparrow", she ended mockingly, still smiling slyly, and rolled her eyes.  
He wrinkled his eyebrows and with a change of subject muttered, "You look bloody awful."  
That didn't mean she wasn't still surprisingly striking of course. Although admittedly a little undernourished lately, but this was Sparks.. Well, Erin, her surname having more or less ended up as her nickname to most.  
It really was better not to go there. He tried not to think about it.  
She laughed, and answered with a hint of sarcasm, "Suave Jack, very suave." Erin wasn't offended. And he knew it. She knew he was right, and he knew that too. As per usual.  
"But, it's an improvement on the last time I saw you." he continued, with a pang of guilt. She winced, clearly recognising exactly what he was on about.  
Some things, nobody forgot.  
"I think we have things to discuss." he said matter-of-factly, arms crossed.  
Erin eyed him warily before she continued, "Very well"  
Slightly perturbed by her unaffected manner, he turned and started off down the street.

Erin didn't move, a little unsure of what she was meant to do. He turned and looked at her.  
"You look like you haven't eaten since then either..."  
She took that as a chance offering of food, and followed, "But... Jack..."  
He laughed, "For once, it's on me, love...", and started walking, grinning again as she caught up and fell into pace beside him.  
He took a long sideways glance at her and raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning her bedraggled attire and appearance.  
She scowled, "Let's just say I haven't had much luck lately..."  
Jack nodded, and carried on walking obviously noticing her growing paranoia. She didn't look that bad did she? Erin thought worriedly, She knew things had been rough lately..  
He startled her out of her thoughts and said reassuringly, "You look simply divine, as ever, Erin."  
She looked at him sceptically, and seeing no trace of a lie in his face, turned away in an attempt to hide the blush which stole across her cheeks.

"Always thought he was such a charmer…" she muttered under her breath  
He elbowed her in the ribs with his elbow lightly, "I heard that."  
"Oh, I know", she answered, grinning wolfishly. "If I remember rightly, you considered yourself a real lady's man"  
"Did not", he answered defensively.  
"Did so"  
"Did not"  
"Oh, you did so!" she answered.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear. And I would be most gratified if you would shut it for a second, I think we're being followed." he said lowering his voice.  
Erin was silent at once, and looked around nervously.  
Jack paused, listening for a second, then continued, "No... Onwards to the inn it is then" He turned the corner, and with a slight shrug of self assurance, Erin followed.  
"Oh, and Jack…"  
"What?"  
"Personal hygiene is a much more attractive trait, than having the ability to utter hollow compliments"  
"Why is what I said hollow?"  
"Because it was you who said it."  
"Ah…"

After a brisk walk back through the more, over-populated streets and a few shortcuts later, Erin and Jack were sat in a very far corner of a particularly familiar looking tavern, away from the other fighting, shouting and extremely drunk patrons.  
Jack watched Erin wolf down her food, a look of amusement on his face.  
She tore into a chunk of bread, glancing at him and noticing his expression she fought through a mouthful of food and , "What?"  
"Oh nothing..." he answered with a grin, and sat back with a strange look of contentment on his face, and put his feet up on the table.  
Erin stole another glance at him and bolted down the remaining scraps of her meal. She sat up and asked warily, her piercing eyes fixed suspiciously on him, "What do you want?.  
He took a swig from his tankard, and reluctantly answered, "Why does everyone always think there's something I want?"  
"Because there always is", she quipped. "You know I'm right, Jack"  
He regarded her for a second, before grinning wryly, "Well, I suppose you've picked up on the rumours, they travel fast, or so I've heard"  
Erin leaned forward, subconsciously lowering her voice, "You mean that little predicament you had with Davy Jones?"  
He nodded, "Aye, we-"  
"I told you it was a bad idea trading your life for a ship! 'It'll be fine', she said mockingly, cutting across him, "Honestly!" Erin rolled her eyes, recalling the words he had said many years before.  
"Well, I was right. I've got me ship back.", he shrugged.  
Erin shook her head, "Yes, as long as you're alright!"  
She was thinking of the two people who had helped Jack meet his ends, separated, with only one day for every ten years to spend together. Or so she had heard…

There was a pause in which he looked at her ruefully, "Really, Erin. You have too strong a conscience to make a good pirate."  
For once he didn't seem to be teasing her.  
"Who's fault is that?"  
"Hmm… Well, what say you to re-joining the Pearl?", he deftly changed the subject.  
She blinked, Erin wasn't expecting that, "Why?"  
"Well, in truth I could do with the help…"  
"What's all this about? If you expect me to believe our meeting was a coincidence…"  
"It was" he answered quickly, "I thought you were dead, which brings me to the question, why aren't you?"  
"I have no idea" she answered, honestly.  
Jack quirked a quizzical eyebrow.  
"I'm serious! Is it really that bad that I'm alive?"  
"Of course not…" he drained his tankard and stood, "Come on!"  
Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her from her seat.  
"Where are we going?" she asked, nonplussed.  
"Where do you think!? Come on, it's time you were re-acquainted with an old friend" he said, dragging her off.  
"Please tell me you don't still refer to the ship as if it were a person, please…"


	3. Comedy and Commotion

Passage back to the harbour was not as easy as it should have been, evidently there had been some sort of commotion outside, and the tiny streets were almost literally paved with people. Not that Tortuga was ever empty, but by the general confusion and in some people's cases, fear, something very much out of the ordinary had gone on.It seemed Jack had decided that, with nothing to keep her there, Erin would rejoin the Pearl. He had sad no more than that they needed her assistance in some way, and by now the crew were used to having a female presence among them.Without the time or the patience to investigate, they pushed their way through the crowds, which was proving exceedingly difficult. In the end, Jack grabbed hold of Erin's wrist and practically dragged her most of the way there. Though not exactly delighted by this method of travel, she had to admit it was getting them where they needed to be, if very slowly, and prevented their being separated. Although she did wish he would loosen his grip; she was starting to loose the feeling in her fingers.

Erin let out a sigh of relief, they were nearly there and the Pearl was in sight, having not seen it in quite some time she was again awed by it's presence. The black sails seemed gigantic, and the woodwork on the ship itself spoke of great fondness for the craft.  
The tension in Jack's shoulders relaxed, as he had seemed discomforted by it's absence, but his hold on her arm didn't slacken. His ship was more dear to him than anything, as anyone who knew him rightly understood. Raised from the depths of the ocean itself, The Pearl was the fastest ship to sail the Spanish main, the exception of course being the Flying Dutchman, once captained by the infamous Davy Jones himself, whom Jack had made a rather treacherous bargain, which had taken him to death and back again. Only would he truly have managed this with the help of a certain blacksmith and his fiancé, with whom he had such a strange acquaintance, he could almost call them friends.

Erin was contemplating her return to the Pearl and all that it entailed, when she saw in a sudden movement a man break away from the crowd. To Erin's surprise, he darted towards her with a look of purpose on his face, cutlass held in hand. Startled she stepped back. Jack lost his hold on her arm, and disappeared, swamped by the crowd. She span around, looking for him, as the stranger drew nearer.  
A strong sense of fear gripped her, and she stumbled backwards. It was clear he was solely concentrated on her, his dark menacing eyed glinted dangerously. Whatever he wanted, Erin was sure it wouldn't be anything good, she needed no further incentive to run.  
Fumbling through the crowd, Erin struggled to forge a path through them. She daren't look back, and kept moving on through the many people with great difficulty.

Suddenly, arms encircled her waist. Erin yelled out, and hit back with all her might.  
"Gerroff! Get away from me!"  
The arms, dropped her unceremoniously, "That has to be the most eloquent speech you've ever made, love"  
She sighed with relief, recognising the voice as Jack's. Sure enough he was stood there grinning slyly at her.  
"If I'm going to get that sort of reception every time I do that, you're not coming"  
"Don't make a habit of it. Especially when I'm running away from someone wielding a highly dangerous weapon"  
"You'll be doing a lot of that, especially with me around" he said, every word hinting at innuendo.  
She glanced at him, and her cheeks flushed furiously when she realised what he meant.  
"Speaking of… Where is he…?"  
"Who?"  
"That bloke who's trying to murder me…"  
"Oh, him err… DUCK!"  
She gaped at him, sure he had finally lost his marbles, "What?"  
"Bloody duck!"  
At this point Jack grabbed the top of her head, and shoved her down towards the ground.

"Hey!",  
"Oh, be quiet…"  
"What are you doing!?"  
"Saving your life, that's what!" Jack answered, scanning those nearby for the tell tale face of the would-be assassin.  
"Jack…?", Erin muttered.  
"Yeeees?" he sighed impatiently under his breath.  
"Do you no think he might have seen you with me?"  
"It's quite plausible, I suppose-", Jack had no time to finish his sentence and she yanked on his arm, pulling him down with her.  
"Well, there was no need for that."  
"Welcome to my world, Captain Sparrow", she said snickering at his expression.  
Jack straightened his coat, unperturbed by her behaviour.  
"Can you see anything?" she murmured.  
He snorted, "Obviously not. All I can see are people's ankles… And some filthy looking ones at that…"  
He wrinkled his nose, another setback at having to deal with the common people, the stench, although admittedly he didn't exactly smell like roses either. There were benefits however, hidden in amongst the crowd they were practically invisible.  
"Oh, this is ridiculous!" she muttered, before turning to look at him, "What do we do?" He noticed how nervous she seemed, as she looked around them agitatedly. It was strange, he had never known her to be so on edge.  
Jack grinned, this was the way he liked it. He was in charge, and he knew his own mind better than any other's, so it was much easier to put his trust in himself.  
He grinned then shrugged, "We crawl…"

"I do not believe you Jack Sparrow. I met you again practically five minutes ago, and already it seems you're trying to get me killed."  
"Shhh… Go on!" Jack answered, urging Erin forwards. Sure enough, they were slowly making progress through the crowd. Crawling one after the other through them.  
"Excuse me…"  
"Pardon me…"  
"Seriously, what are they even doing here anyway? Go get a job!" Erin shouted to the nearest peasant.  
Jack laughed, he had forgotten how amusing she could be, especially when exceedingly pissed off.  
"That's a little harsh, and if I may say, slightly hypocritical."  
"What?" she stopped and craned to look at him.  
"Well, seen as though you seem to have been a pickpocket by trade (funny how you're life fell to pieces without me in it)-"  
Erin frowned.  
"-These people would have been paying your, ah, wages, as it were. Best to keep moving though, eh?"  
"You've got some cheek…" but her frown lessened, and he knew she wasn't cross. She could never stay angry at him for very long, which he used to his advantage.

That wasn't the end of it though.  
"We crawl… Do you not think there's a reason we learn to walk!?"  
"Well, yes. Since when did you complain so bloody much? You go parading out there and see what happens. Go have a chat with that friend of yours if you like"  
"He's no friend of mine…" she muttered bitterly.  
"-And the way I see it, it's not so bad. Nice view", he smirked, peering from behind her lifting a suggestive eyebrow. She leaned back to swat at him, but missed. "Swine! I should have known you of all people would have an ulterior motive."  
Jack merely chuckled to himself, but the grin slid off his face as a huge shadow was cast across them both. The crowd had parted and the big, burly assassin in question was towering over Erin.  
He never managed to get any nearer however, as a shot rang out and he slumped wide eyed onto the cobble stones right in front of them.  
Erin looked towards Jack looking just as nonplussed as he. He looked round for the elusive gunman (or woman, he had learned always to expect the unexpected), but saw no one.

The crowd bristled at the sound, and there was a piercing silence, before their hysterical voices rang 0ut unanimously, and it became complete pandemonium. Jack blinked and came to his senses, he grabbed hold of Erin's hand and tugged. She was staring stunned at the body now laid limp on the ground.  
"We need to go... Now.", he hissed in her ear, but she was frozen to the spot, wide eyed. He pulled her up from the ground, and as he tugged harder (to his relief) she allowed him to steer her around the next turn and out of sigh


	4. Suspicious Circumstances

Erin leant against the wall, coat drawn tightly around herself to keep out the deviant chill that was by no means typical weather to suit her surroundings. Jack and herself had found themselves in a similar alleyway to the one before, in fact, she couldn't be entirely sure it wasn't the same 0ne. They all looked identical in this neighbourhood.  
She found herself staring purposefully into the sky, still panting slightly after the brief run that had followed the previous incident. Truth be told, she had been avoiding meeting Jack's eye than anything else, in case they betrayed her feelings on the matter. She was just as determined not to notice the shaking of her shoulders, which had nothing to do with the cold.  
He himself, had left a few moments earlier, to check if the nearby streets were clear of anyone looking distinctly murderous.

Erin was thankful for the moment of calm, as it gave her a chance to come to terms with the day's events. Whatever way she looked at it, she was shocked, she supposed she was naive for not understanding why anyone would want to kill her. In this respect Jack was right, she was not pirate material.  
The thing was, Erin wasn't a bad person, and never had she been. She had morals and a strong sense of humanity which she was proud of, though they seemed rather useless. She never meant to end up like this. When she was young there were no uncertainties about her future, at least not it in the minds of her parents.  
Coming from a fairly wealthy family she would most likely have been married off to some rich young man. Although this appealed to many of her acquaintances (dare she call them friends?), and to her older sister (a cold, unkind woman who only cared for her reflection), she wasn't like them. Erin never wanted that life for herself, she found it tiresome, and frankly lacked in anything that should keep her there, and it didn't.

In her life murder, mutiny and other happenings of a disturbing nature had become almost common occurrences, not being so blissfully seldom as in other people's cosy existences. She never really understood even though it had been a long time since she had seen herself as "upper class", the divide was still there. Even though this was never an aspect of her life she had taken pleasure in, she had grown to accept it. ,She felt alienated from all the people she had ever known, never really fitting in anywhere. She was accepted of course, with her quick wit and nerves of steel, but deep down had always felt as though she was apart from all the others she had known.  
In her youth she recognised, she had been the oddball amongst her peers, although those who really cared for her she realised, had loved her for it. Though the fact that these consisted of only three cats, her brother, and her father didn't really make her feel any better. There was a similar sort of strangeness in Jack she realized, that she had always respected. In some ways he was very like her, and was a good man at heart. He of course would never admit to it, as a fellow miscreant and all.  
In Erin's mind it made him a peculiar pirate, but an exceptional one even so.

Resting her face in her hands, she tried to rid the image of her potential killer's body, limp and lifeless on the ground, from her mind. The sudden stillness, and his sightless eyes staring straight through her. The thought he would have murdered her, if given the chance, did not help to ease her mind. She wanted to know who had killed him, and if indeed they wanted to do the same to her.  
Sighing deeply, instead she attempted to think about her future, and what Jack actually wanted. He had been very lax in explaining what it was.  
They had always been to some extent, friends, though doubtless that being the incorrect term, for their bizarre relationship. She had a great amount of unspoken admiration for him which she never divulged, his head didn't need to swell to be any bigger than it already had. Arrogant sod, she thought affectionately.

Jack came swaggering back down the tiny street.  
"We better make for the Pearl while it's clear…"  
Erin was waiting, arms folded, "Took your time didn't you?"  
"Thought you might need it…" he shrugged.  
Erin eyes him suspiciously, "Why?"  
"Well, you looked like you were in shock.", Jack leaned against the wall, eyes glinting wickedly. Oh, she wouldn't like that…  
"It takes more than that to scare me, you know that."  
"Really?" he taunted.  
"Really."  
"Oh good. No worries then…" Jack answered, and made to leave.  
"Jack…?"  
"What now?" he turned around.  
"Did you have anything to do with this?" she asked, hands on hips.  
"No" he answered sharply, "I don't make a habit of asking people to join my crew, then getting them killed. That just makes no sense."  
"You know what I mean, and when did you ever make sense?"  
Jack laughed.

They were back to the banter again, which made things easier. Soon he would have to answer her questions, but not yet. He had to admit she still intrigued him as much as ever, even more so if that was possible. Jack was even surprised at himself, he never let anyone boss him around, but the demanding expression on her face always won him over in the end. It was the lack of rum he had decided.  
"Jack… Pleeeeeease tell me what's going on…" Oh Gods, he thought, that was a dirty tactic.  
"No" he said shortly, "You'll know soon enough…"  
"You always do this" a scowl crossed her face, "I'm fed up of just having to trust you, which by the way, I don't!"  
"Well you're just going to have to get used to it"  
"Why…. You!" she exclaimed. Jack only grinned back, she was positively adorable when infuriated. Yes, there was a definite lack of rum here.  
Erin opened her mouth to speak, at which point the hastily covered her mouth with his hand, "Need I say once again, be quiet?"

Erin slapped his hand away, and frowned at him, her gaze meeting his. This seemed to commence some sort of silent staring competition. She glared at him, unblinking, annoyed by the demeaning way in which he treated her. Eventually her eyes watering, she blinked.  
A look of triumph crossed his face, but he still didn't look away. His unwavering gaze and proximity suddenly made her uncertain as she felt the urge to shy away. Feelings that had long lain dormant stirred, as she felt her heart skip a beat.  
"Hmph…"  
"What?"  
"You don't trust me?"  
"Only because you're a compulsive liar…" she answered, an amused smirk playing at her lips.  
"You know you love that in me, Erin"  
"Do not" she said, defiantly.  
"Do so"  
"Do not  
"Do so…" they were merely centimetres away from each other now and Erin suddenly found herself mystified by the unyielding look in his eyes.  
"Well, maybe a little…" she relented.  
"Good", he grinned and Erin felt his arms encircled her waist, this time she didn't fight them off. He inclined his head towards hers.

The click of a gun loading resounded through the alleyway.

They both froze. After what seemed like an age Jack murmured, "As much as I was enjoying this little interlude, love, I think it may be wise to continue this later…"  
She nodded breathlessly, "I agree…"  
They both slowly turned their heads to look in the direction of the noise, only to see a man stood, cocking a pistol at Erin's head. She blinked, taken aback.  
"Prepare to die…" he drawled, with a malevolent sneer.  
Erin thought about saying something very articulate about originality, but thought it better left unspoken. Generally psychopaths and murderers did not think on the same level as she. Instead, as his finger squeezed the trigger, she scrunched her eyes closed. There was a silence and no shot rang out.

Erin opened her eyes, Jack was wincing with his eyes also closed. Clearly, he was more squeamish than she thought, or perhaps he just didn't want to see the women he had a second before been trying to lure blown to bits. She supposed it was a bit of both. Erin looked over at the man, he was staring at his gun totally flummoxed. Jack it seemed had more of an idea than he did, as he opened his eyes, and deftly snatched the pistol from the man's hands.  
Jack's other arm slid from around Erin's waist as he examined it, "You pillock, it's not loaded!"  
The man only managed a simple sounding "Oh", before Jack brought the pistol's pommel down on the crown of his head with a sickly crack.  
Erin grimaced, "That's disgusting…"  
Jack looked back at Erin with a raised eyebrow for a second, before grabbing her hand. She missed the look on his face as he turned back around, "Well, that was a close shave... Come on, there might be more of them…"  
Before she could reply he pulled her after him in the direction of the port.


	5. Hello, Stranger

My many, many apologies for taking so long with this (to anyone who still even cares, that is). I'm not overly fond of this chapter, as for the most part a lot of the content has been written for some time. However, hopefully I will make up for it with a few new chapters which I already have planned out, and I actually get properly into the plot. :)

-

A hat flew across the room, skimming the top of Jack's head as he ducked to avoid it. "Oy! That could've taken my eye out…" the pirate muttered in fake annoyance.

Erin peered around the screen which had previously obscured her from view, regarding her uppity friend with an arched eyebrow, "Missed. Shame."

"What was that for?" he asked, perplexed, as she disappeared back behind the screen.

"For peeking" she replied, smugly. "And, I felt like it."

Jack leant forward, over the map stretched across the desk before him. Absent-mindedly, he responded, "I didn't realise I was so transparent."

"No, but I've got a feeling this screen is" she answered, with a somewhat dubious tone to her voice.

Jack grunted in response, "How long does it take anyway? Just hurry up and choose something to wear."

"I never said you had to wait for me" she retorted, unruffled. "Don't you have a ship to captain, perchance?"

Jack stretched languorously, "The crew can handle it."

On the pair's arrival there had been many hurried greetings as the crew made the ship ready to sail, and Erin attempted to reacquaint herself with both the Black Pearl, and indeed, some of it's crew, who (in some cases, unfortunately) she had met before.

The Pearl's rather disgruntled crew had let out a combination of salutations and curses at Jack's return. Clearly most were all too eager to leave, and not wanting to go against the wishes of a clearly very bad-tempered group of pirates, Erin had retreated to the captain's cabin to look through the scarce amount of spare clothes available to her, being exceedingly fed up of her current garments. Jack had followed shortly after her, slumping into a chair and muttering something about navigational errors. Erin had decided not to ask, instead leaving him to his madness.

Erin reappeared from behind the screen, and crossed the cluttered floor to regard her reflection in the liquor cabinet.

Jack spoke, but did not look up, "Bloody hallelujah."

Erin didn't reply, clearly having decided to ignore this scathing comment.

Glancing over at her, Jack raised an eyebrow, "Well, you look even witchier than usual. You spent too much time with Tia Dalma."

It was true, there was just something distinctly supernatural about Erin, which only made her even more mystifying, and even easier on the eyes.

"_Witchier? _Well, thanks."

"You know what I mean" he said, giving her a lingering look, before turning back to the map before him. He sniffed affectedly, "You'll do."

"I'm just doing the best with what I was given", Erin shrugged, and there were a few moments of silence as she pulled on her leather boots, tucking in her trousers. After a few seconds he became aware of her coming closer, and she perched on the edge of Jack's desk, looking quite pleased with herself, despite what Jack had said. She looked at him expectantly, with her piercingly blue eyes that stood out in startling contrast to the dark hair that framed her face. She rolled up her long, white sleeves, "Well, Mr Sparrow. What is it you want with me?"

Jack stood up, taking a swig from the tankard on his desk, before realising it was empty. "Well, would you look at that. Be right back."

Erin lunged forward, catching hold of his wrist as he strode towards the door.

"Jack, you are going to tell me what all this about", she said, firmly.

Looking only slightly surprised, he replied, "Did no one ever tell you that ignorance is bliss?"

Erin frowned, "Yes, but clearly, they had never met you."

Jack extricated himself from her grasp, and continued mysteriously, "All will be revealed in time…"

-

Sat on the wooden rail on the deck, dangling her feet over the side of the ship, Erin couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so free. However, being aboard the Pearl brought back a _lo_t of memories, not all so pleasant, but all utterly unforgettable. She stroked the wood underneath her fingered, fondly, bewitched by the white streaks of foam-crested waves moving swiftly past, and the feel of the wind in her hair. Erin couldn't believe how much she had yearned to be back at sea, and couldn't help but feel it was in her blood. Leaning backwards, and tearing her eyes from the beautiful horizon, she turned to look at her crewmates. Most of them were at work, climbing up the rigging or busying themselves with equally important tasks. Erin, as Jack had so pointedly informed her, wasn't expected to do any of this, which she found particularly curious. The fact that none of the other crew appeared to resent her for this fact, similarly put her on edge.

At the helm, she could see Jack, his brow furrowed broodingly, as he manoeuvred the ship to who knew where. He had been extremely cloak and dagger about that, too. She was beginning to feel as though she had been kidnapped, if it were possible to be kidnapped willingly. She smiled at his expression still so inherently familiar to her, even after all the time that had passed. As she watched him, Jack's first mate, Gibbs, appeared at his shoulder. She knew Gibbs of old and had recognised him immediately, having a somewhat uncanny knack for remembering faces. He was a nice enough sort, for a pirate, especially, and had a certain knack for storytelling. Despite this, she felt slightly uneasy, sure that they were talking about her. Telling herself she was just being, paranoid, Erin turned away. After all, she and Jack were, for all intents and purposes, friends. Would he really do something to directly harm her? She didn't think so, but she knew how reckless he could be, particularly where his own mortality was involved. She would have to wait to find out was going on, it seemed, though that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep her ear to the ground. Looking out towards the sea she couldn't help but feel calmed, in such idyllic surroundings, it was hard to be suspicious.

After a while, she became aware of the sound of multiple pairs of boots on wooden planks, approaching.

Erin groaned loudly, "Oh, you can't be serious."

Her old crewmates, Ragetti and Pintel, were grinning crookedly at her. Time had not changed them much except it seemed, if possible, that they looked even filthier than before.

"Ello Sparks." Pintel ventured, as he adjusted his wooden eye with a look of attempted malevolence.

"Jack never took you two on?" Erin stared at them sceptically.

"It was somefink of an accident" Pintel assured her. Despite this, he glanced quickly in Jack's direction, who seemed oblivious to their conversation and was still in deep conversation at the wheel. The three of them watched him silently, though for vastly different reasons. The pair were checking their Captain was out of earshot, she was sure.

"No hard feelings, eh?" Ragetti added, eventually, distracting her. His compatriot laughed, mockingly.

She fixed them with as fierce a look as she could muster, "Shut it."

"Oooo. Well, that's _us _told." Pintel answered, mimicking her tone.

Shaking her head, she moved away from them. Ghosting Jack's steps she clambered up the steps, towards the ships' wheel, hoping that she could, perhaps, overhear something she wasn't supposed to. Suddenly, she felt one of her feet slip on the wet stairway, and went flying backwards down the stairs. She landed, spread-eagled, with an overly-loud thud, cursing and rubbing at her now incredibly painful back. To her relief, it seemed no one had noticed her fall, as she was very aware that she would probably never hear the last of it if they had. She raised her head, and peering through her hair saw Jack leaning over the banister above her, with an amused grin upon his face, "Not recovered your sea legs I see…"

Well… _Someone _had noticed. Erin was searching for a suitable retort, when she noticed a hand extended towards her. It was pale, and there was no dirt under the fingernails. This was odd, considering her current company. Mildly surprised, she took it and was pulled strongly to her feet. She gazed vaguely into the face of her rescuer, finding herself momentarily stunned. Erin stood, unblinking as her eyes met with those of a man whom she had never met before. _A very attractive man _she had never met before.

"Hello, Stranger" he said, with a flawless grin.

"Um… Alright" Erin nodded, aghast.

His cool smile widened, and she found herself immediately endeared to him, and Erin felt her cheeks flush in what seemed the umpteenth time in the past few days, at which point she remembered Jack. Glancing in his direction she saw he looked unexplainably apprehensive as he descended the stairs to join them.

Slowly, she turned and fixed her eyes questioningly on the unassumingly good-looking young man. Erin was sure she had not seen him aboard the ship when she arrived, and likewise, he didn't act as a member of the crew. Erin supposed he could be a guest upon the ship but this seemed doubtful, as the Pearl did not often harbour visitors. His pale, porcelain skin showed he spent little time in the sun, and stood out in contrast against his dark hair and eyes, which watched her keenly and seemed to radiate a sense of calm composure. I was at this point however, Erin realised she was still holding his hand and was about to release it when the man shook the hand still clasped in his warmly, "Adrian Wray, at your service."


End file.
